Can cutting and crushing apparatus



July 8, 1952 J. GRAHAM CAN CUTTING AND CRUSHING APPARATUS Filed March 14, 1951 m INVZOR.

e ames Graham TGRNE? "ber of cans.

. therequired fiat condition.

Patented July 8, 1 952 "UNITED STATES "PATENT roan-cs 2,602,483 CAN ,oUTTINo-A'Nn CRUSHING. APPARATUS 'James'GraZham; westf floylston, Mass. ,ApplioationMarch 14, msLiSeriaI'NOJZImn Il-lis inventiou relates' to can crushing "apparatus and particularly to a devicewhichwi'llpermit the ready disposalofmany types oftirycans that accumulate in the average household kitchen.

A large problem is faced by the average householder in a need for disposing of-the'empty cans which have contained'food, sincethey are :usuallymade of incombustiblematerialthatoannotbe placed "with "garbage and other refuse, rand'they 'must' be "removed separately from the -=house. 'Owing'to their large bulk-and the assortment of 'sizes involved, "they' 'rmay require large j disposal {receptacle and vehicles 'for the "transportation of a comparatively small-num- On the other hand, ifthey could be-put into a compact form and'thus easily transported, ,therewould be a larger possibility of subjecting the cans -;to a 'de-tinning process and-thusrecovering valuable metal for reuse.

in primary object of this invention is to satisfy s'uoh requ'irements andtoprovide a simple. veconomical and easily operated apparatus which {maybe employed inthe average home for crushing'the cans into :a compact condition so that they maybe easily stored and -'ultimately re- :moved.

A furtherobject' is to provide such 'anal parajtus-which willserve to-cut off one or bothjoi the heads of the can so as to make the "crushingoperation easy and provide aneat and compact product. l

' A further object is to-provide :an apparatus of this type "in which the i cutting and crushing operations are carried on simultaneously, so that "by' the-"time that the can head, which would otherwise interfere with an orderly crushing step, has been removed, the can is crushed to A-iurther object is to provide arr-apparatus of this type 'for cutting oii one 'or both heads of a can-and which is well-adapted forthe various sizes-of can-and requires no'adjustments or operation problems-and which will crush a large sized can as satisfactorily as a smaller one. Other objects will be apparent in the following disclosure. I

Referringto' the drawingswhich illustrate one embodiment of this invention:

1 'is an isometric view ofthe" device with a can in position for cutting off one=ofitsheads; :Fig. 2 is :a front elevational view of the construction; of Fig. 1 and showing in dotted out- :lines "the two :positions of arcan' arranged for puttingpfizltstwo ends and -3 Claims. Cl. 3- -105 Fig. "3 {is an -en-larged fragmentary sectional detail, taken i'on'rtheline s-s or Figfi'Zg-ShOW- ing the relation "of various sizes of "can to the cuttingkniie M arid-the operationof slicing' ioff "the can head.

In accordancewith*thlsinventionfilhaveprovided "a device which will "serve for slicing o'fi one "-head of the pan and simultaneoushFfiat n the cylindrical portion of the canas the head is removed. This construction, whichgmay-"taKe various forms, is shown as having a" suppcrtior 'holdingacan duringthe slicingoperatiommomprising fiat topped metal tableor'plat'form "Ill to --wh-ich hinged --a -meta1 rcrushing =plate f 2. These parts may bema'de s-ui'tably such asfiron castings-orpressed may "be designed a'cc'ordingly. One

'steel' bodies; andtheir' shapes *of these members, such a s the hinged-- plate l 2; carries at least one knife 14, and-preferablyasecond-krflfe I'5, --arranged to slice through the "cylindrical bod-ypf thecan 1-6 *a'djacent'an'end. "Since the can -in its crushed or 'flattened condition will have -=a substantial-thickness,- and-theflat under- -=surface of the'crushingplate l2 in its lowermost horizontal position-should be substantially parallel-with the horizontal, unobstructed top fiat surface of thecan :support 'HLthe pivot for the crushing-plate i2 is located' a'bove the-"top oil the support Ill so as-to-prov-ide room for-the crushed can =when'the adjacent surfaces "of the parts "f0 and mare parallel.

'an'd nut on the front flange To this end, the hinged "crushing plate 12, whichhas an upstanding peripheral flange IT for strength, is provided with a projecting knuckle l8 secured to-therear flange "portion, and that knuckle rides on a pivot pin t9 carried in spaced lugs 20' standingup from the-rear fiange .24,proiects upwardly'iromoneside of the plate l0 and serves "to limit the-'movement-of 'a can through "the crushing zoneand "to hold it properly-positioned :so that the knife [4 may PC1111 oft the :end .of the :can closely-adjacent :to 111119 bead-or :rim. or .to :the' end of :the" canhavingano bead andaoia:posltiomwhere. the. lateral.v strength :of the .oan Lend :aids- .1111 :resisting any tendency 3 for the knife to crush the can before it can penetrate it and cut off the head properly. A slot 25 is arranged lengthwise of the platform I and of such size that the knife blade [4 may pass through that slot to its lowermost position can support comprises a second can supportingplatform 38, and this may be formed as a shelf secured to the table it. As illustrated the shelf may be provided by a separate table made of pressed steel or other suitable material which has legs 3i secured to the legs 22 of the table I 8 by suitable bolts 33 so that the two platforms It and 3B, are held rigidly together. The horizontal fiat topsurface of this platform 38 is preferably slightly lower than the top surface of the support Hi so that-a side portion of the table I i! will serve as a stop to limit endwise movement of the can and position it properly for slicing offthe-head adjacent to that stop. This stop may-be formed by milling out a groove 32 in the flanged side of the table Iii where the leg portion 22 joins the ,flat top. The vertical depth of the groove may be only about the thickness of the can head. It will. be appreciated that many types of can have a beaded edge and thisbead has an appreciable thickness, hence the horizontal width of the groove 32 is therefore to be such that this beaded portion will be supported by the slot bottom and out of the way of the knife [5 which will pass downwardly outside of but closely adjacent to the sideface 34 of the legs 22 of thetable ID. I

Thekm'fe I5 is so located and the platform 38 is of such height and so positioned as to permit the knife to pass through the can and into the slot-betwee-n-the two supports it and and to the required depth. To provide this slot space for .the knife I may form in-turned lugs on the inner legs of the-table 30 which contact the legs 22. 1 The lugs are slightly longer than the thickness of the knife blade 15. It will also be appreciated that the slot 25 is spaced from the flange 24 by that same distance representing the thickness of the beaded portion of the can where that type of can is used, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the knife may slice off the top close to the beaded rim.

Each knife is so shaped that it will sever the cylindrical part of the can just inside off-the beaded head, an'd the knife ii is so located that it will permit the cylindrical partof the can to be crushed bythe crushing plate I2 without interference by the can end. The two knives may be of the same shape,;and each comprises a beveled cutter element of a suitable steel which is adapted to be secured and adjusted on the appropriate upstanding end flange I? of the crusher plate 512, such asby, bolts and nutstssecuredin holes or elongated slots in the flange. The knife or plate It is clamped; tightly against the outer side of the flange H in a position to enter the slot 25. That is, the hinged crushing plate I2 is narrow enough so that its side flange I! is located at the right of the upstanding flange 24 when in alowe'rmost position. The knife or cutter plate I5 is spaced fromits supporting side flange I 1 by a the v cutter.

4 suitable washer 39, so that the knife will be properly located for entering the slot between the legs 22 and 3! of the two can supports IO and 30.

One suitable cutter comprises a narrow body, like a mowing machine knife, having a sharply pointed or wedge-shaped portion 4!], as shown particularly in Fig. 3, adapted to penetrate the cylindrical surface of the can and to cut the same by means of its two beveled or sharpened sides iii. The V shaped cutter portion 41' merges with a beveled curved portion 42 which'continues as a straight knife portion 43 running substantially parallel with the plate [2. At the other side of the wedge 49 is a further beveled cutting portion 54 that'is connected through a curved part with The shape of the knife may be widely varied as desired.

The cutter is so shaped and the can is so located that when the can is positioned with substantially a vertical diameter contacting with the sharp point of the wedge 48, the wedge will swing downwardly through the successive positions shown in Fig, 3 and progressively out the cylindrical body of the can. It is to be noted that for be out, .as represented by the smaller circle IB'of Fig. 3, this can will preferably be so placed that the cutter point 46 will be located near a vertical diameter, but in this case most of the cutting is done by the pointed part 40 and the adjacent curved portion of the cutter. It will thus be appreciated that whatever the size of the can with in. the limits of the construction, the pointed portion 48 of the cutter will penetrate first the top and finally the bottom portions of'the can while the two side parts of the V and circular portions .of the cutter will complete the operation as the cutter swings about the axis of the pivot pin IS.

The operation of the device will now be apparent. A can which has its two flat heads secured to the cylindrical body by beads is first-located on the lower table 3e and with either end-against the shoulder provided the groove 32. Then, by means of the handle 22, the crusher plate 12 is moved downwardly and the pointed knife portion 38 ofthe blade I5 penetrates the cylindrical sideof the can and progressively slice's'off-the flat end of the can. The knife holds the can and prevents its rolling. As shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 2, the can at this time-is wholly out,- side of the path of the crusher plate movement and so is not crushed, since the plate [2 is narrower than the table it, to the extent shown. Then the can is turned end for end and the other beaded end thereof is moved into position against the upright flange 24, and this time the knife I 4 cuts off the remaining end of the can, as shown at theleft hand side of Fig. 2. At the same time, the flat bottomed crusher plate l2 moves down: wardly against the cylindrical part ofthe can and progressively crushes it, but with the cutter knife [4 acting-well in advance of the plate and so severing the can end ahead of the crushing stage. Thus, the two heads are collected separately from the flattened can body, and allofthe canparts may, thus be readily storedina compact arrangement.

It will be noted by inspection of Fig, 2 that the distance between the two knives I4 and. |5xis greater than the length of any can to be crushed so that the knives, or any intermediate shoulder formed by the slot 32, can not interfere with the operation of the device. If the one knife 15 is employed to cut both ends of the can, then the can will be located at the left of this knife (Fig. 2) for the second stage cutting operation, after it has been reversed end for end. However, efficient operation requires that the can be so placed,

, having a horizontal can supporting top, a flat bottomed crushing plate hinged thereto, the pivot axis of the hinge being located above the can supporting table so that-the adjacent flat surfaces of the table and crushing plate may lie in a spaced and substantially parallel relationship, a

knife having a pointed edge portion carried by the crushing plate and located for cuttin the cylindrical body of the can closely adjacent to the end of the can, said table providing a space into which the knife may pass as it cuts through the can to remove said end, and the hinged crushing plate being so located relative to the knife that it does not'contact the can end but crushes only the cylindrical body of the can as the can end is being cut and removed.

2. A can crushing apparatus comprising a can support, a crushing plate hinged thereto, a pair of downwardly depending can piercing and slicing knives carried in a spaced relationship on the crushing plate, said support providing space for each knife to pass entirely through the can and below th locating the rately severed by the by one knife and the e can supporting surface, means for can so that the ends may be sepatwo knives, the first end second end by the other knife while the can is held in two different positions, said crushing plate being arranged to crush the cylindrical body of the can only as the second can head is being severed.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which the can support has two can positioning shoulders and a slot adjacent to each shoulder for the passage therethrough of the associated knife,

said slots being spaced from the shoulders by about the width of a can bead so that the knife slices through the cylindrical portion of the can close to but inside of the bead, each knife having a sharply pointed wedge-shaped portion merging with exte nsive edge portions adapted to slice entirely through the cylindrical walls of cans of diiferent standard sizes, and said knives being so spaced that cansof standard lengths may be located therebetween.

JAMES GRAHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

